Drawer structure



F. s. KNOLL ETAL DRAWER STRUCTURE Sept. 3, 1 963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSept 21. 1960 n n n INVENTORS FLOEfiVCE .S. -K/VOLl. BY wn/cmrxcmma @111W. (3&4;

Sept. '3, 1963 F. S. KNOLL ETAL DRAWER STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledSept. 21, 1960 51 V 5 my W M w 0 V L f w W W m5 0% [V F Y B Q N'Florence S Knoll, New York,

3,102,763 DRAWER STRUCTURE and Vincent J. Cafiero, Hartsdale, N.Y.,assignors New York, N.Y., a corporation ofNew York Filed Sept. 21,1964), Ser- No. 57,566 4 Claims. (Cl. 312-2341) a flat front face, meansattached to the drawer head for holding an index to designate thecontents of the drawer, and a pull for opening and closing the drawer.In the typical drawer head of the prior art, the pull consists of aforwardly projecting handle and a forwardly projecting frame is providedfor holding the index. The disadvantages of the conventional apparatusjust described are that the projecting handle and the index frame aresubject to accidental engagement with persons or articles passing, withresulting possible injury, either to the passing persons or articles orto the handle or index frame. Furthermore, the index card, beingexternal to the face of the drawer, and usually externally inserted intothe frame, is subject to accidental disfigurement or dislodgment bypassing persons or objects.

These and other disadvantages are eliminated, in accordance with thepresent invention, by the use of recesses in the flat face of the drawerhead to retain the index and to provide apull or hand grip for openingthe drawer.- A file cabinet having drawers constructed in accordancewith the present invention has smaller overall dimensions, and hencerequires less floor space; than a conventional cabinet. In a large arrayof cabinets, the space saved may be of substantial importance.

to Knoll Associates, Inc.,

United States Patent An object of this invention is to provide animproved head for a drawer such as a file cabinet drawer.

Another object of this invention is to provide new and improved meansfor retaining an index on the face of a drawer.

A further object is to provide new and improved pull means for opening adrawer.

A further object is to provide a file drawer head having a recess tohold an index.

A further object is to provide a drawer head having a recess to providemeans for opening and closing the drawer.

A further object is to provide a drawer head of the type described inwhich an index retaining recess and a pull defining recess are bothincorporated into a unitary structure.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained in thedrawer structure described herein. That drawer has a head structureformed of two spaced walls, each wall consisting of a sheet steelstamping, the two walls having interfitting peripheral flanges by whichthey are frictionally held together to form the head. The drawer head ismade somewhat thicker than conventional sheet metal drawer heads, i.e.,the spacing between the walls is greater. The front wall of the drawerhead is provided near its top with a horizontal elongated aperture.Located in the aperture and between the two walls is a unitary castingincluding a frame portion having a shoulder which closely fits againstthe edge of the taperture in the front wall. A septum divides thecasting into two sections, one of which serves as a part of the indexholder, and the other as the drawer pull. Both sections of the castinghave rearwardly extendingmembers which abut the rear Wall of the drawerhead. These rearwardly extending members have downwardly depending lugsthreaded to receive machine screws which extend through openings in therear wall. A backing plate is mounted on the casting behind the indexholdingportion thereof and provides a background support for theinserted index member. "One end of the plate abuts against the septum,so that that end of the index holding recess is closed. The other end ofthe index holding recess is opened and is aligned with an opening in theedge of the drawer head, through which an index card may be insertedinto the index holding recess.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from aconsideration of the following specification and claims, taken togetherwith the accompanying drawings.-

In the drawing:

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of a drawer head embodying theinvention;

FIG. .2 is a side elevational view of a drawer including the head ofFIG. 1; j

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a casting which forms a principal partof the index receiving recess and the drawer pull recess;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View taken on the line VV of FIG. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View taken on the line VIVI of FIG. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. .5, but illustrating amodification.

There is shown in the drawings a drawer head including a front wall -1and a rear wall 2. The walls 1 and 2 are formed in a conventionalmanner, of sheet steel stampings, with interfitting flanges 1a and 211(see FIG. 4) attached in any suitable fashion to the. side Walls 3 ofthe drawer. The front wall 1 is provided near its upper end with ahorizontally, elongated 'rectang ular aperture 1b. Inside theaperture 1bis mounted a casting 4, best seen in FIG. 3, having a rib 5 projectingforwardly from its front face and closely fitting inside the aperture1b. The casting 4 has a flat surface 4a abutting the inside surface ofthe wall 1 at the periphery of aperture 112. The rib 5 of casting 4provides a frame for the two apertures. T he casting 4 is separated by aseptum 6 into an index receiving portion 7 and a drawer pull portion 8(see FIG. 3).

The index receiving portion 7 includes a horizontally elongated lowerrail 3 and a horizontally elongated upper rail 10, connected at theirrespectiveends by the septum 6 and by a vertical end rail 11.

The drawer pull portion 8 includes a lower rail 12 and an upper rail 13,both elongated and extending horizontally, and connected at their endsby the septum 6 and a vertical end rail 14.

The rib 5 extends along the entire periphery ofthe casting 4,. includingparticularly the rails 10, 13, 14, 12, 9 and 11.

A projection 16 extends rearwardly from the lower rail 9 at a point nearits left-hand end, as viewed in FIG. 3 and terminates in .a downwardlydepending lug 17 having a threaded aperture to receive a screw 18extending through an opening in the inner wall 2 of the drawer head.

A backing plate 19 (see FIG. 5), whch may be a sheet metal stamping, hasa rearwardly projecting flange 19a at its lower edge, which flange isadapted for attachment to the projection 16 and to another projection 20by means of suitable screws 21. The upper edge of the plate 19 has aforwardly projecting flange 19b whose Patented Sept. 3, 1963 forwardedge is'ben t downwardly, as shown at 190 so as to define a channelwhich're'ceive s the upper edge of the rail 10. A surface'llla along therail 16 is set back w from the surface -4a to allow space for the flangeportion v The right-haiid end of the plate 19 abuts against the septum6', "as shown in FIG. .4. The corner of the plate l9 atthe flange19aengages shoulders formed at the connection of the projections 16 and 20'with the rail 9. The casting =4 and the plate 19 thus provide areceptacle for receiving an index member such as a card or sign. Thereceptacle is closed at its back, top, bottom and inner ends. Thereceptacle isopen at its left end or 'out'er end; as shown at 22 in FIG.4. This open end is aligned with anwaperture 23 formed in the flange laat the lateral edge of .thefr ont wall 1, so that the card or indexmember can be slipped through the aperture -23 into the open end 22ofthe index receptacle, thereby bringing it intoalignment with a sightopening 7a defined by the index receiving portion 7 of the casting '4.

The index receiving portion '7 of the casting 4 forms a frame around thesight opening 7a.., The recess which receives the index card or othermember extends beyond the frame except at the end defined by the septum6. This overhang of the frame retains the index card in its recess andprevents it from moving forwardly out of the recess; i

The drawer pull portion 8 of the casting 4- is best seen in FIGS. 3, 4and 6. Referring to FIG. 6, it maybe seen that the rails -12 .and 13have vertically extending portions 12a, 13a, which are generallyparallel to the front wall member 1. The portions 12a, 13aextcndvertically a short distance from the pull opening 8a and joinrearwardly horizontally extending portions 12b and 13b, whichpreferablyextend back to and abut the inner wall 2.. The inwardly extendingportion 12b is proo pull the ,drawer out, through the opening 8a,

readily grip thev'surface portion 13a to pull the drawer outward. If thepalm is downward, the fingers readilygrip the surface of portion 12a. Inthe case of the upper drawer of a file cabinet, it is usually mostconvenient for a person to reach in with the palm downward and grip thesurface 12a. In the case of the lower drawer, it is more convenient'tohave the palm upward and grip the surface 13a. The intermediate drawersof a filing cabinet may be gripped in either fashion. It maybe seen thatthe structure shown is suitable for filing drawers at any level, byvirtue of its convenience for gripping either'with the palm upward ordownward.

the fingers may be inserted with the palm of the hand either Y upward ordownward. If the palm is upward, the fingers a 4. While we have shownand described certain preferred embodiments of our invention, othermodifications thereof will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, andwe therefore intend our invention to be limited only by the appendedclaims.

We claim as our invention:

v1. A file drawer comprising a drawer head, said head including spacedouter, and inner walls, said outer wall being flat and having ahorizontally elongated aperture therein and a combineddrawer pull andindex supporting means mounted between said walls and including a frameextending around the periphery of the aperture and abutting the innerside of said outer wall, a vertical septum extending transversely of theframe between the inner and outer walls and separating a drawer pullportion of said frame from an index retaining portion thereof, saiddrawer pull portion comprising a grip member having upper and lowersurfaces extending along the upper and -'lower edges respectively of theelongated aperture and covering said'edges, said upper surface extendingvertically upward along the inside of said outer wall and thenhorizontally across to said inner wall to provide an upper finger grip,said lower surface extending vertically downward along the inside ofsaid outer wall and then horizontally across to said inner wall toprovide a lower finger grip, saidindex retaining portion including meansfor holding an index in a position visible from outside the'outer wall,said index supporting means being open at one end to permit theinsertion of an index into said means.

2. A file drawer comprising a drawer head, said head 7 including spacedinner andouter walls, said outer wall "being flat and having ahorizontally elongated aperture therein, a unitary frame in one integralpiece extending around the periphery of said aperture and abutting theinner side of the outer wall, spacer means at each end of the frameincludinginwardly extending projections integral with the frameextending between the frame and the inner wall and attached to the innerwall, upper and lower grip members integral with opposed upper and lowerportions of the frame and adjacent one end of the frame, said gripmembers extending along the inner surface of the outer wall andcooperating with the frame to provide upper and lower finger gripswithin the drawer head for There is shown in FIG. 7 a modified form ofindex retainingstructure, which may be used in place of the plate l 19of FIG. 5. In FIG. 7, a casting 26 corresponds generally to theindex'retaining portion 7 of the casting 4 of a casting 26, just belowthe sight opening in'the index anember.

Another. sheet metal stamping 28, ofa generallychannel shapedcross-section, has a lower'horizontally'ex-tending flange riveted to theflange 27b and an upper horizontally extending flange riveted to the topflange-2a of the'inner wall. 2. The index retaining receptacleis definedbetween the casting 26 and the sheet metal stamping 28. As in the caseof the index retaining receptacle in FIG. 5, its outer end is open, sothat the index card may he slipped through an opening 23 in the edgeofthe-drawer head. I

pulling the drawer out, and a backing plate spaced laterally from thegrip members and between said inner wall and another portion of theframe adjacentv the other end of the frame, said backing plate and saidanother portion of the frame cooperating todefine a receptacle withinthe drawer head and adapted to receive an index.

3. A file drawer comprising a drawer head, said head including spacedinner and outer walls, said outer wall being fiat and having ahorizontally elongated aperture therein, a unitary frame in one integralpieceextending around the periphery of said aperture and abutting theinner side of the outer wall, spacer means at each end of the frame, thespacer means for said one end of the frame including inwardly extendingprojections integral with the frame extending between the frame and theinner wall and attached to the inner wall and the spacer means for saidother end of the frame comprising a horizontally extending angle memberhaving horizontal flange and a vertical flange, said vertical flangehaving a surface abutting and attached to said innerwall and saidhorizontal ally from the grip members and between said inner wall I andanother portion of the frame adjacent the other end of the frame, saidbacking plate and said another portion of the frame cooperating todefine a receptacle within the drawer head and adapted to receive anindex.

4. A file drawer comprising a drawer head, said head including spacedrouter and inner walls, said outer wall being flat and having ahorizontally elongated aperture therein and a combined drawer pull andindex supporting means including a peripheral frame and a transverseframe member separating a drawer pull portion of said frame from anindex retaining portion thereof, said drawer pull portion comprisingupper and lower frame portions extending along the upper and lower edgesrespectively of the elongated aperture, said upper portion cooperatingwith said outer Wall and the aperture thereinto provide a recessextending vertically upward along the inside of said outer wallfor useas an upper finger grip, said lower portion cooperatin g with said outerwall and the aperture therein to provide a recess extending verticallydownward along the inside of said outer wall for use as a lower fingergrip, said index retaining portion including means for holding an indexin a position visible from outside the outer wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS404,458 Woodruff June 4, 1889 1,304,700 Otte May 2, 1919 1 1,569,094Kurtzon Jan. 12, 1926 1,827,934 Dawson Oct. 20, 1931 2,112,821 WoltersMar. 29, 1938 2,315,925 Bescherer Apr. 6, 1943 2,335,391 Cushing Nov.30, 1943 2,805,911 Anderson Sept. 10, 1957 2,842,420 Hansen et a1. July8, 1958 2,884,295 Foote et -al Apr. 28, 1959

1. A FILE DRAWER COMPRISING A DRAWER HEAD, SAID HEAD INCLUDING SPACEDOUTER AND INNER WALLS, SAID OUTER WALL BEING FLAT AND HAVING AHORIZONTALLY ELONGATED APERTURE THEREIN AND A COMBINED DRAWER PULL ANDINDEX SUPPORTING MEANS MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID WALLS AND INCLUDING A FRAMEEXTENDING AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF THE APERTURE AND ABUTTING THE INNERSIDE OF SAID OUTER WALL, A VERTICAL SEPTUM EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THEFRAME BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER WALLS AND SEPARATING A DRAWER PULLPORTION OF SAID FRAME FROM AN INDEX RETAINING PORTION THEREOF, SAIDDRAWER PULL PORTION COMPRISING A GRIP MEMBER HAVING UPPER AND LOWERSURFACES EXTENDING ALONG THE UPPER AND LOWER EDGES RESPECTIVELY OF THEELONGATED APERTURE AND COVERING SAID EDGES, SAID UPPER SURFACE EXTENDINGVERTICALLY UPWARD ALONG THE INSIDE OF SAID OUTER WALL AND THENHORIZONTALLY ACROSS TO SAID INNER WALL TO PROVIDE AN UPPER FINGER GRIP,SAID LOWER SURFACE EXTENDING VERTICALLY DOWNWARD ALONG THE INSIDE OFSAID OUTER WALL AND THEN HORIZONTALLY ACROSS TO SAID INNER WALL TOPROVIDE A LOWER FINGER GRIP, SAID INDEX RETAINING PORTION INCLUDINGMEANS FOR HOLDING AN INDEX IN A POSITION VISIBLE FROM OUTSIDE THE OUTERWALL, SAID INDEX SUPPORTING MEANS BEING OPEN AT ONE END TO PERMIT THEINSERTION OF AN INDEX INTO SAID MEANS.